Where to start to write a book: Creating a book about your child or grandparent or pet.
Like many others, you may love the idea of becoming a published author, but how do you know where to start to write a book?
This blog post can help you to think through what help you might need.
- Creating your main character
If you have a child or pet that you would like to make into a book character, this could be a great idea for a story. Think about their most obvious behaviour traits or standout features and build the character around those. Perhaps you have a dog that likes to do tricks, a child with a special talent or maybe it’s a book about your gran who likes to go roller skating. Whatever is unique about them can make a great story.
- Decide if you will write the book yourself or if you need help
Sometimes we have clients who come to us with a fully written story, so they just need help with sourcing an illustrator, a layout designer or an editor. Sometimes, clients have the concept for the story and part of the plot, but they need the services of a writer to help them flesh out the story. Whatever your needs, we are flexible and won’t make you take services you don’t require.
- Work closely with the illustrator
For a book featuring your pet, friend, child or other relative, the illustrations need to be believable. The person needs to be able to recognise themselves or their pet for the project to be a success. Choosing the right illustrator can be tricky; that’s where Maini Books can help as we have a growing pool of talented professionals for you to work with.
- Get a good editor to thoroughly check over your text
Proofreading and editing are not the same thing. Editing is a deeper revision of the text and its purpose is to improve the overall quality of the writing. Editing helps with consistent use of language and ensures that the story works well as a whole. Proofreading focuses more on picking up spelling, grammar and punctuation issues as well as minor inconsistencies in the language and tone. It is the final stage in the process.
- Decide if you want to publish your book to the wider world
Many people like the idea of creating a personalised gift book that features their pet, child or other family member, but they could also consider marketing the book for the general public too. Whether you simply want help to create a beautiful personalised gift or you plan to publish the book for sale, Maini Books can help you understand where to start to write a book.
- Printing your book and marketing
If you decide to make your book available on general sale, you will need to manage marketing, printing and distribution. Maini Books can work with you to sort out an ISBN number, make your book available on Ingram Spark and Amazon, and help source high quality printing to ensure your book looks perfect.
If you would like to explore how to bring your project to life, please get in touch via our contact page.
You might like to read more about our services where we have packages to suit all budgets.
